I hate to jump on the "TI rudder problems" bandwagon, but I had an issue arise yesterday that I couldn't fix after an hour of intense effort.

I was launching the TI for our first sail of the day. Pushed away from the ramp, hopped into the rear seat, paddled away from the shallow water, pulled the rudder down, released the sail and promptly started side slipping toward the rocks. WTF??? I cycled the rudder back up and the "Up" line went loose in my hands - the rudder would not go back down and the up line was drum tight. I was able to furl the sail, paddle like mad to avoid the rocks and make it to a nearby beach, where I proceeded to try to find the source of the problem.

Issues:

A) Couldn't trace all of the rudder lines by hand - my arms are not long enough.B) Couldn't see all of the rudder lines from the port holes - my head is too large to fit the opening.C) Couldn't quickly find the source of the problem to fix it.

Eventually I got the signal mirror out of my emergency kit and was able to eliminate everything except the pulley that is several inches in front of the rear-seat "Up" pull handle. By carefully feeling the line and the way it fed into the pulley, I was able to determine that the line had somehow jumped the pulley and was jammed between the pulley and the pulley housing. By exerting a lot of force on the rear-seat "Down" line, I was able to ease the strain on the jammed "Up" pulley enough for me to pull several inches of the line through the jam, but not enough to get the line back on the pulley proper. So now I have the ability to pull the rudder down, but not up; to get it up, I have to physically grab the rudder blade and rotate it up with my hands.

My question: Should I attempt to fix it myself or take it to my local dealer so they can document the problem? If I should attempt it myself, are there any diagrams of the rudder lines available? Doing all of this by convoluted touch is not the best way to attempt a repair.

First, I would take your boat back to the dealer. Hobie needs to hear about all the problems and what better way then have the dealer bill them for warranty repairs.

I had a different problem with my TI. When the dealer was trying to adjust the tension on the drum the line that lowers the rudder came out of the drum and he had to spend hours re-stringing it. I was lucky, there was no question about how it happened because the dealer did it.

Been having some issues (tightness and some slop in the controls) so I took a bunch of pictures of the lines inside the TI. I know its after the fact but it might be helpful for someone?

I have readjusted my lines but have not been out to try it out. My steering is tight, especially turning starboard. Anyway, I am hopeful I have improved things - I wonder if my pulley is causing issues?

I'd like to go with a larger diameter line, but everything is sized for the smaller one - the holes, the tubes the lines go through, etc.

I've found that I can ease the pressure when turning to starboard by letting out about a half of an inch of the "Down" line, until I can feel the rudder control beginning to work better in my left hand.